BELLE AND BILL

 

My Dad told lots of stories of growing up on a farm in Romulus, MI.  The hard work, the family ties, and the crops and animals.  Like all farms at the time, the work was done by hard work and strong horses.  The farm team was an important resource for all farmers.  The team my grandparents owned were Belle and Bill.  They were massive gray horses that had a special place in the workings of the farm and apple orchard in the wilds of Romulus.

Mornings brought many chores:  there were the care and feeding of the livestock, cleaning the barns, and a multitude of chores to accomplish before breakfast.  The team was fed before the men and boys. Always.  After breakfast, the team was harnessed and hitched to whatever implement they were using that day, and the hard work began.  When the dinner bell rang, the team was brought back to the barnyard, unharnessed, rubbed down, curried, fed and watered.  Once the team was seen to, the men and boys then could wash up and head in to their meal.  Once the men ate, they were onto other barnyard chores while the team had a full hour of rest.

When the dinner bell rang, they care of the horses again came before the care of the men and boys.  Belle and Bill were the live horsepower necessary before the advent of the mechanical horsepower, and they were well treated on my grandparent’s farm.

They also were instrumental in the building of the new church for St. Steven’s Parish, New Boston, MI.  When the ground was broken for the church that stands today, it was with the use of the powerful team of grays belonging to Frank JOBLINSKI.   The ground was broken on September 31, 1923 and the cornerstone laid in October.  Times were very hard, and the labor was provided by members of the parish.  But Belle and Bill played a large part too. (My Dad loved farming, but the eldest son Eddie did not, and I was really surprised to see a photo of Uncle Eddie and one the horses on Family Search.  As you can see from his dress,  his mind was on other pursuits.)

 

Rana JOBLINSKI WILLIT

The team lived out their days on the farm on Eureka Road, and are buried somewhere on the property.

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